Chosen Few
by Koomahana
Summary: something happened at the end of the fourth Shinobi war... Something that no one saw coming... what if over half of the resurrected force were given a choice? return to the point in their life were everything was changed... or face oblivion? should they even choose to return? after all, they can send someone else...
1. Chapter 1

**Chosen Few**

Chapter one: a thousand choices

**There's an alternet ending, please tell me your thoughts!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

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What if, just what if, something happened at the end of the fourth shinobi war?

Something that no one saw coming?

Something like a select few people starting over?

What if over half of the resurrected shinobi force were given a choice?

Start over at the point where their life changed forever… or face oblivion?

_Would the chosen few walk the same path?_

_Would the chosen few choose a separate path?_

_Would the chosen few change the fate of so many?_

Here is the story from one angle…

After all it is those who read the story who decide the fate of those who choose to return…

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She starred out at the golden abyss before her, her mind was so numbed with pain she couldn't feel the burning in her chest where a gaping hole rested between her breasts.

"_A choice child,"_ a voice whispered, but she couldn't see anyone, it sounded before her, behind her and beside her, like an echo. _"Decide when to return… choose who to save…"_

"Choose?" she whispered dumbly. "Choose who?"

"_Choose who to save,"_ it whispered again, patient. _"You must save someone…"_

"Save? Who can I save?" a thousand faces flashed through her mind's eye, some she knew from history books, from friend's tails and from her past. So many faces… who could she choose?

"I could save one?" she whispered. "I could save Itachi, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Tsunade and Jiraya, Obito, Rin, Kakashi, Nagato and Konan, Naruto and his parents, the entire allied shinobi force? … perhaps even Sasuke?" her voice grew with the names, only to whisper the last in a fearful hope.

"…_Yes,"_ the voice whispered. _"Choose who child… you must choose who to save."_

"But how can I choose one above the others?" she whimpered, tears gathered in her emerald eyes. "Each have a history, each are tied together with no true center."

She covered her face as tears leaked down her cheeks. Her pink hair swirled around her head with the movement, as if she were submerged in water. "How can I choose who to save, if it means leaving the others behind?"

She was unaware of the gathered shinobi around her, the men and women she named and thought of standing together and watching, their eyes wide as they understood what was happening.

"_Choose child,"_ it whispered. _"Choose…."_

"Who can I save, that will save the others in return?"

"_Choose"_ it whispered. _"A second chance… or oblivion…"_

"Why must I choose one?!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. "How can one life be more important than the others?!"

"_A second chance… or oblivion…"_ It whispered in return. _"Choose child…Choose…"_

"Let them take the second chance!" she cried. "Let them choose their own path! Let me take their place at death's door! Please! Give them a _second chance_!"

"…_A second chance or oblivion…"_ the voice sounded again and this time, the girl felt as if it wasn't speaking to her.

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**Okay I had no plans to continue this but if I get at least five positive reviews for this one, I'll try for a second chapter on it.**

**No promises…**

**Oh! And don't forget to tell me who you want to be returned to the past **

**That's always a helpful thought.**

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**Different ending! XD**

**Don't forget to add your thoughts!**

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"Let them take the second chance!" she cried. "Let them choose their own path! Let me take their place at death's door! Please! Give them a _second chance_!"

"…_A second chance or oblivion…"_ the voice sounded again and this time, the girl felt as if it wasn't speaking to her.

"My heart has been shattered into a thousand pieces," She whispered as she raised her filthy hands to her face, trying desperately to remove the tears that wouldn't stop spilling from them.

If only she could see the regret and fear on the other Shinobi's faces.

Slowly, one by one, the hundreds of others that surrendered the girl turned away, fighting their own tears as they rejected the choice given to them, some immanently disappearing as if they never appeared.

"_A thousand pieces your heart has shattered," _the voice whispered its agreement. "_And a thousand souls you have touched…_"

"I don't understand," She whispered, refusing to look up.

"_A second chance_…" a familiar voice whispered, she turned and stared half horrified and half relieved at the young men standing just behind her.

"_If anyone can save us, it's you_." The second whispered gently with a slight tilt of his lips

"_You can do it_." another blonde girl grinned at her.

"_You're smarter than most in my clan_." a boy said with a lazy shrug. "_You'll find a way_."

"_Just believe in yourself_," a slightly familiar look man chuckled at her, a knowing smile twisting his lips. "_Just believe in yourself and you'll find away_."

"_If it'll help, you can have my eyes_," an unfamiliar boy said as he stepped forward. "_We've never met, but Naruto speaks highly of you. If he believes in you, then so will I."_

"_I'm inclined to agree_." An unfamiliar woman chuckled as she stepped forward beside the unfamiliar boy. "_Don't worry; I'm sure you'll use my abilities by far better than I ever could_."

"But why me?" She whispered, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.

"_Because_," the blonde boy said with an easy grin.

"_You're the genius amongst genius's!_" the loud shout echoed around her as the people who surrendered her smiled and offered her something in return for her saving them. So many people that Naruto had touched, believed in his words… his words about her. Each and every one of them, even those who didn't like her to begin with, offered their abilities in return for her to save them.

Nagato's Rinnegan…

Konan's paper…

Tenten's weapons…

Hinata's _absolute defense_ technique..

Neji's agility…

Lee's eight inner gates…

Kakashi's summoning…

Haku's blood line…

Shion's prophecy ability…

Jugo's ability to speak to animals…

Karin's chakra chains…

Kushina's sealing ability…

Minato's kunai knifes…

Tsunade's hundred year seal…

So many people who would rather have Naruto save them a second time… are choosing her instead.

"I still don't understand…" She whispered, her eyes spilling tears like Miniature Rivers. "Why me?"

"_You don't have to understand_," the strange voice whispered to her. "_You were chosen the minuet everyone before you, chose you in their stead_."

"Why can't Naruto go back?" She whispered. "Isn't _he_ the chosen one? What about Tsunade-Saishio? She's stronger then I am. Or Kakashi—"

"_A thousand spirits have chosen you_." The voice interrupted. "_Quit stalling and accept you fate. True there are others who are more qualified then you, little one. But you are the only one who has gained the favor of a thousand powerful spirits… and the strongest demon to ever be born._"

"A demon chose me?" she asked still confused. "What do you mean by 'the strongest demon to ever be born'?"

"_I mean the nine tails known as Kurama has agreed with his last container, that you, child of the fire nation, shall be sent back—in return to save the five great nations_."

"But I was mean to him…" She murmured, her brows pinched together. "I still don't understand. Isn't there anyone else who could—"

"_Quite stalling and do as you've been asked!"_ the voice snapped making Sakura flinch. "_A thousand souls have given you their best! A thousand souls have asked you to save them! Now do as you are told!_"

"… but what if I fail?" she whispered rubbing at her temple tiredly. "Why me?"

"_You have been chosen by a thousand souls_," the voice whispered, the voice sounding soft and sad. "_Won't you do my children and I, the greatest of honors… and return to save the nations?_"

With a gasp the girl snapped around, her eyes wide as she stared at the three white clothed forms kneeling behind her. A woman with ankle long snowy white locks kneeled with a bowed head was kneeled on the golden floor a few passes away, two similar looking men flanking her sides just behind her.

"_We are the Ōtsutsuki clan founders_," a male to the woman's left whispered softly.

"_If the brat has chosen you to return, then we can only ask you to do the same_." The male to the woman's right spook up.

"_Child born of the spring, warrior of the five nations, soul touched by a thousand hearts_." The woman said, her head rising slightly to look up at the child before her. "_Will you return to the beginning and stop the war from coming, even at the price of your own life?_"

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**What's ya' think?**

**Tell me your thoughts!**

**Ten positive reviews will make this the official ending for the chapter **

**And no one's really telling who to send back or any ideas for the next chapter…**

**Does that mean no one's expecting the next chapter?**

**Page 6**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chosen Few**

Chapter 2: Tobirama Senju

Koomahana

**It'll take me a long time to keep this story going, It's going to be choppy and a little messed up at times but it **_**should**_** flow well enough**

**Please don't forget to remind me to explain something if I somehow managed to not do so in a chapter**

**Like I said, it's going to be choppy and by 'choppy' I mean it's going to jump around a lot**

**I didn't know who to start with, so I just went with one of my favorite characters**

**I honestly didn't know Hashirama's mother's name so I made one up, I hope that was okay**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site**

_Thoughts_

_Paragraphs are memories_

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He slammed into a sitting position, a scream tearing out of his throat, his body trembling as rivers of sweat pored from his body; his eyes were too wide and his skin was too pale. He felt hands gripping and clawing at his arms and shoulders, a dozen soft voices whispering in panic to him, he could feel the air swirling around him; he could very nearly _see_ a dozen different colors surrounding him, pulsing and beating to different rhythms. He knew the room was dark but that did little to dull the black and green hum of fear emanating from the pale haired woman beside him, voice whisper soft but filled with a panic she refused to admit. A hard blast of black, soft emerald and bright aqua from the boy on his other side, dark eyes stared down at in worry.

"Shhh, baby, Shhh" the woman to his left whispered, gently whipping the sweat out of his eyes, brushing his hair back as she gently pushed him back down, "Shhh, baby, Shhh, everything is okay, you're okay, you're safe."

"I-Itama," he whimpered to her, tears slipping down his face, an unusual sight for the stoic boy, "K-Kawarama..."

"They're sleeping love," the woman whispered, gently laying him back down, her smile wobbly as she brushed his tears aside, "They're sleeping."

"No," he whimpered, struggling to sit back up, "Save them, you have to save them"

"From what love?" she asked, not letting him get back up, "Save them from what?"

"Death," he answered, his crimson eyes rolling to the back of his head, the fever he's been fighting taking hold of him again and forcing him into a deep sleep.

"Mama," the boy across from her whispered worriedly, his dark eyes wide in fear and concern, the edges of his eyes ghosting over with mist, fighting to produce at least one tear.

"Shhh, Hashirama," the woman whispered, smiling gently at him, "I won't let anything happen to your brothers."

"This is the third time this week," Hashirama whispered back to her, eyes remaining misty despite his efforts to keep them dry. "He's been sick this whole month; the fever isn't leaving him like it did everyone else—it's getting worse."

"I know," she whispered brushing back a lock of her unruly white hair back behind her ear, "I'll speak to your father, He won't let the boys leave the compound until they're stronger."

"But he'll argue about needing the man power," Hashirama replied worriedly

"Not if I have anything to do with it," his mother growled, crimson eyes flashing warningly, "I won't let any of my babies die without a fight."

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Hashirama stared at his father open mouthed and horrified at his declaration, he had argued with his mother about the matter of his two younger brothers and it had nearly escalated into a physical fight that would've ended in a divorce that would've made their mother take _all_ of them from their father and claim her last name and leave the older man heir-less.

As he said, _almost_

Instead, his mother had merely threatened to take the kids back to her own clan compound far to the north and beyond the mountains where his father wouldn't be able to follow them. If it was one thing Hashirama Senju learned young, it was not to anger his mother—she was no pushover, not by a long shot. The Uchiha clan avoided her for a reason and it wasn't because she was once best friends with the current Uchiha clan monarch, his mother was nicknamed 'Yuki no Onna'; in other words, don't piss her off or you'll end up as an ice sculpture.

However what he was hearing right now from his father made young Hashirama belief that his father didn't hear a word his mother had shouted at him the night before and he wasn't seeing the fine trembling of her hands.

"Are you serious?" Hashirama asked dumbly, expression still disbelieving

"Yes I'm serious," His father replied as calmly as he could without growling at his eldest in front of his wife. "Kawarama and Itama will go to Sagiso village and get Tenshi-Hime to come to the compound with them."

"...Tobirama is dreaming of them dyeing and you want to send them out on a mission?" Hashirama repeated, "Father don't you care for your sons even a little bit?"

"Of course I care," Butsuma growled at him, dark eyes flashing warningly

"Then why don't you act the part?" Hashirama asked, "You say you do but you don't act like it."

"There is no need to act for a fact"

"Action speaks louder then words," Hashirama replied, "If they get so much as a scratch on this mission then I'm taking mother's surname."

"You will abandon your clan?" Butsuma asked with narrow eyes

"No, I'm abandoning my heartless father," Hashirama replied straight faced, "You've been warned father. If they get hurt you'll have to find a new heir."

"Hashi-nii," Itama called worriedly

"Don't do anything stupid, it's a simple mission," Kawarama tried to frown at Hashirama but he only ended up smirking, something he couldn't resist to do even when he was in deep trouble.

"Any kind of mission can turn deadly," Hashirama replied with a frown, "especially with other clans that are now targeting us _specifically_. It's no longer safe to wear our clan mark outside of the compound; it's difficult to walk through the closest village without getting into a fight as it is."

"Okay, okay, so we won't where the clan mark," Itama piped up trying to make a compromise, "Would that make you feel better?"

"I'd feel better if you had an adult with you," Hashirama replied, "Why can't I go? If you want to send one of us, I'm the most logical choice. I'm both faster and stronger then Kawarama and Itama, plus I'm the eldest."

"All the more reason why you need to stay by Tobirama's side," Butsuma replied, "He calls for you the most"

"But he's more worried for Kawarama and Itama," Hashirama replied, "He seeks comfort from me but he's more worried about _them_."

"Oh for heaven sakes! I'll go," their mother huffed, "the Uchiha clan won't touch me with a ten foot pole and no other clan is insane enough to bother me."

"Hikari!" their father barked, "you will do no so thing!"

"I am Yukimura before I am Senju," their mother replied straight-faced and spoke with the same kind of 'calm' that was before a storm, "Don't you dare tell me to put my health before my children."

"You _are_ with child! Don't think I'll simply let you—"

"I may be with child but I'm not gonna lose one of my sons for your foolishness," Hikari replied, her crimson eyes flashing defiantly, "A Yukimura has never miscarried her child while taking care of her others, don't think that I'll be the first. Something disastrous has happened with each of my pregnancies, we really should've seen this one coming."

"You're not going!" Butsuma snapped

"I will freeze you in your seat," Hikari replied calmly, unaffected by her husband's venomous glare

"I don't think you're going to win this one Otoo-san," Kawarama chuckled, Butsuma's glare was instantly on him

"We-we can g-go wi-with K-kaa-chan," Itama stuttered out, trying to be helpful

"And if Kaa-chan is pregnant then I really should go with her," Hashirama replied, "and if I go then there's no reason for Itama and Kawarama to go, they can stay with Tobirama and keep him feeling better." Butsuma growled at his wife and three sons, knowing that he wasn't going to win this fight; he slammed to his feet and stomped out of the room, heading for the closest training grounds.

"Kawarama, Itama, stay with your brother, don't stray from his side okay?" Hikari asked, turning her red eyes onto her two youngest sons, "make sure he drinks lots of water and keep him covered in his blankets."

"Hai, Okaa-chan," the two boys grinned at each other, liking this option a lot better then trying to find their way to a mysterious village that is nearly imposable to find itself.

"Hashirama go pack your things," Hikari ordered her oldest, "make sure to take only what you can carry, nothing more, understand?"

"Hai" Hashirama jumped to his feet and hurried out of the room, his two younger brothers hurrying after him. Hikari let a smile slip onto her face as she listened to her boys run from her with laughter echoing after them; slowly she turned to look at the garden to her other side, her red eyes misting over with memories and thoughts.

She may have told her husband that she was expecting again, but she didn't tell him that there was some_thing_ different with her current pregnancy. With her previous four pregnancies, she knew she was going to have a boy, his chakra signature was strong and moved to a rhythm close to her husbands but not always so close to it and she had the normal side effects of most pregnancies, the cravings and soreness, mood swings and the like. What was abnormal about her current pregnancy was that she could barely feel the chakra signature because it moved to a similar rhythm to her own. Her cravings were basically none existent with the occasional urge for something fruity or sweet, her soreness was none existent, her mood swings only reared its ugly head in concern to her sons. All of that was fairly normal and if it weren't for one thing she would disregarded all of her little warning lights flashing in her mind's eye. The one thing that was making her uneasy with her current pregnancy were the strange colors she was seeing. As a child she grew up to her mother's whispers and stories about the special kind of people who could see or sense 'auras' but that didn't mean she ever believed the elder. The old woman had actually trained her in 'reading' the different colors, saying that each color had an emotion tied into it.

Red was known the most as the color of fire and blood; so it is often associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.

Orange is associated with joy and sunshine yet it represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, and encouragement.

Yellow is associated joy, happiness, intellect, and energy

Green symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility; Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety and nature.

Blue symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, and truth. It is often associated with depth, stability, as well as the sky and sea.

Purple is the combined stability of blue and the energy of red; it is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, magic and royalty. Purple also symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition, wealth and extravagance.

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, virginity, safety, purity and cleanliness. It is considered to be the color of perfection.

And finally

Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, mystery, fear, and grief. Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, perspective, and depth.

As Hikari continued to stare out at their large garden thoughtfully, one hand raising to rub at her slowly growing stomach, she realized that she needed to go back to her mother and see if her calculations were correct. She needed to know if her next child was going to be born in December or January, one was very good and the other was very, very bad—at least to her it was bad. December was the month of amethysts and known for elegance, destiny, dreams, imagination, music, inspiration, luxury, magic and most importantly Intuition (the other worldly kind). While January was the month of sapphires and known for Spiritual mastery (meaning chakra), Maturity, long life, judgment, dignity, experience, virtue, truth and Wisdom.

Hikari would rather her child be born in January instead of December because she herself was born in January, so she knew that her child would be at least a little more normal and nothing like her strange mother who always seemed lost in her own world. As far as Hikari knew, the last person in her clan who was born in December was her mother and not only was she a splendid kunochi who's name made even the strongest men go pale in the face, but she also had a kind of mind that seemed to be forever in another place, like she was always lost in someone else's memories. The strange crimson-eyed woman knew things that she couldn't possibly know, like who had died and who had survived, who was kind or who was mean. Her mother could even guess people's personalities at first sight and usually hit the nail on the head, she was rarely wrong and the one time that Hikari recalled her mother being wrong was when the strange woman had said she'd marry into a simple clan.

The Senju clan was not simple by any means of the word

_I hope she's still alive,_ Hikari thought as she slowly rose to her feet, _I think I'd feel better if she was..._ The last time Hikari met her mother was about a boy she knew as a child, she simply said that the young man was destined to have four sons and to lose his younger two before their tenth birthday and that he'd die before he could see the greatness his two eldest sons would create. Hikari had later married that same boy so she knew that the fate of that boy's sons was actually the fate of her own children. She wanted to see what this 'greatness' _her_ two eldest sons would create but she didn't want to lose her two youngest sons for such a price, was there away for the positive to happen without the negative taking place?

"Mother? Are you ready?" Hashirama called, poking his head back into the room he thought she had left

"Oh, right," Hikari blinked at him before giving a distracted smile, "My bag is already packed, I just need to grab it."

"Okay," Hashirama grinned her brightly, "Tobirama seemed to be more coherent today, he actually understood what I told him."

"Oh?" Hikari asked with a chuckle, walking out of the room and down the hall, "What did you tell him?"

"Oh, just that we're off to get some medicine for his fever," Hashirama smiled at her, "He seemed to already know that. He even said that I had to be careful of what flower I picked because I'm unobservant and might end up picking a poison instead."

"Oh he'll be just fine!" Hikari chuckled, "if he's feeling good enough to insult you, he must be able to beat the fever."

"But he still needs the medicine from the Tenshi-Hime, right?" Hashirama asked

"Of course," Hikari bobbed her head, "She'll be able to make something for him that'll help him come over the fever."

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**Thoughts are helpful**

**Opinions are wonderful**

**Helpful criticism****is**** lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?**

**Please no cursing!**

**I'll try for a third chapter soon...**

**Page 7**


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